Running Naked on the Hottest Day of the Year

Ok, so I wasn't totally naked. I did carry along my watch, and my Jeff Galloway interval timer.  Other than that however, I was completely naked of technical devices. I guess I've been through a period of technical overload.  It started with the best of intentions years ago with an innocent mp3 player to motivate me with music. That progressed to an iPod for Christmas a few years ago, with the Nike foot pod and tracking program.  Earlier this year I progressed to an iPhone and the the cool GPS Nike program.  I was crunching and collecting data faster than a NASA engineer with T -10 to go..  But then it happened:  I just got tired of it all.  Don't get me wrong, I continued to run, but I found no fun in keeping up with it all on the various running sites I had joined.  I kept on running, but I just quit keeping track of it all.

My birthday was last week, and I wondered if using a running watch would put me back in the mood to track my runs.  So,  I did my research, and for the money I was willing to spend, I decided on the Garmin 305.  It looked like the perfect device to get me back into the running logs: easy to use, very accurate, economical, and a fanatical wide following. And so I told my devoted family that if they would like to contribute to my "Garmin" fund, that is what I wanted for my birthday.

But then about a week after I made the announcement,  it occurred to me: why would I spend money on another silly toy?  ...Another silly toy in a line of previous silly toys which sat in a drawer somewhere...except for my iPhone, I still love the iPhone as a phone and computer, just not as a running/tracking device.  So I asked my family to give me a gift of hope and life.  I asked them if I could send my "Garmin Fund," instead to my Heroes fund for  St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  I have signed up again, to run as a St. Jude Hero in the St. Jude 1/2 Marathon later this year.  Thankfully, they all said yes, and my Heroes fund is up to $200.00.  It's a great start to my $2500.00 goal.

This brings me back to running naked.  There's a wonderful freedom running naked -running without tracking devices, running without having to accurately document each and every mile.  There's a wonderful freedom in hearing the wind rustling through the trees overhead; the laughter and giggling of families having  parties or splashing away in pools on the other side of the fences as I run by- lawnmowers whirring and even a siren in the distance.  I missed that while tethered to music. And there is a wonderful freedom in not worrying about what I want for my birthday, or even what new thing  I need to make my running complete.  I got just what I wanted for my birthday: my family showed their love for me, by sharing in the struggle with the kids and their families at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  Together we helped lift a burden from them, if only for a short time.  But in that time, together we all experienced the truest freedom possible -the freedom from the wants of this world, the freedom from pain and hopelessness; the freedom of pure joy in giving of ourselves to help others  in need. And in that freedom, I'm running for a reason, how about you? 

It's Just a Game

Several years ago our youngest son played on a local 6 year's old rec-league baseball team. One warm summer Saturday morning, the little guys were having a tough time of it.  The other team was racking up runs faster than Charlie Sheen's Twitter followers.  In our dugout, one guy was chasing a bug on the concrete floor. Two other fellas were discussing some issue from school.  Another player was tracing with his index finger, something he saw in the clouds over center field. 

With yet another ping of the bat, their attention was drawn to the field where another opposing player ran to first base, and two more kids raced around the the bases to cross home plate.  It was turning into quite a beating.

As the dust settled, and the next player came to the plate, one of the little guys, the one who had been playing with the bug, looked up to me and asked: "What's the score?"

I hesitated, but tried my best to break it to him gently: "Well, it's 12 to nothing..." I said.

He looked up at me with mild interest, and then went back to playing with the bug.  And then he asked: "Who's winning?"

I thought of this story as I headed out this morning for my Saturday morning run. It's been a whole week since I last ran.  The week was either too busy, too cold and rainy, or just too complicated to get out and run.  But, as it turns out, this morning's run was just fine. It was like I hadn't missed a beat from last Sunday.  I've got a 1/2 Marathon on my running calendar next Sunday.  It is the first "race" that I haven't obsessively trained for.  I'm looking forward to running the race with a couple friends -something I've never done before.  On race day, I may be more concerned about my time; I may get competitive juices flowing, but right now, I'm just going to enjoy the journey.  I'm not worring about, "Who's winning?" 

I'm Still Running...but the Road is Ever Changing

Whew, it's been a while. I've not forgotten the blog; I actually come to visit it every now and then, like a faithful old friend over a cup of coffee or an easy telephone conversation. Over the months, I've collected some thoughts and I  begin to write, but then I am easily distracted by an unanswered email, a text message, or a phone call and my attention moves away from it.  However, in the months (I can't believe it's been months...) since I last posted, I've continued to run.  I was pretty disappointed from my St. Jude Marathon experience, but not to the point of giving up running.  After all, I've come to identify myself, at least in part as a runner.

So, I run.  Last Saturday, I ran in the Move it Memphis 10K.  I unexpectedly ran a 10K PR  @ 1:03:28.  I beat last year's Move it Memphis time by about 7 minutes and last Summer's UPS Ulitmate 10K by almost 9 minutes.  I attribute by performance to great weather, a later start time, a nice cup of coffee with breakfast, and the pacing of a good friend.  All in all, I'm pleased to still be setting PR's at my advanced age, or at least while my age continues to advance. Pleased?  I should say thrilled.

Prior to Saturday's race, I was considering that my running career may be entering into a new stage of diminishing expectations.  I still want to put in the miles, but PR's would be a thing of the past.  At the same time my youngest son and I are planning a backpacking trip later this month. Neither one of us has any real camping/hiking experience.  I've been accumulating some essential equipment for the trip, and doing lots of reading on the subject. A friend of mine who has done some serious backcountry backpacking, recommended Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods, Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail."  It has been a marvelously funny, entertaining and informative read.  It has put me in the  mood to head out on the trail and hike into the wilderness, pack upon my back, knife on my belt, and pipe and tobacco in my pocket...actually I don't smoke or own a pipe, but it does sound like the thing to do around a campfire.  

And so, I was considering that my running would cease to be the running I've been doing over these past 4 years, but  rather it would meld into a hiking  life.  It would be the thing to keep me in shape to carry a 45 lb. backpack over miles and miles of wilderness trails.  But then there was the PR on Saturday.

My life seems to do this a lot: just when I think I know the path I want to travel, an unexpected fork in the road appears, and I find myself going in another slightly different direction.  I do believe we do have a certain amount of control over our lives, otherwise everything is predestined and why the hell bother... but I also believe we have to have some flexibility in our life's road map.  Otherwise, we may miss some of what life has planned for us, and we  may miss some of the best sites along the journey.  I'm going to try to keep this in mind, whether I'm running over the asphalt roads around my neighborhood, or a leaf strewn trail through the woods. I want to keep my eyes open, and my feet ready to tread the path life has put before me.